Funny how some people want nothing to do with the design or build of their "custom" bike. Many folks walk into a bike shop or dealership and select a "custom off the floor" and are more than satisfied. For those easy-to-please folks, these are rich days with plenty of iron to choose from. Small shop, big shop, little manufacturer, big manufacturer, you name it-the American V-Twin market is wealthy in choices, if not innovation. These bikes ("factory customs") are ready to roll off the showroom floor and into the garage-voil-instant custom with no wait.
On the other hand, you've got folks such as Laurent, owner of this beauty of a black bobber, who are not satisfied with anything "stock," even if it is a "custom." As Joe Curtes and Chucky Fryman, friends and partners in Huntington Beach Motor Cycles (HBMC), told us, "Laurent has a few bikes. One of them is an over-the-top Road King, super-shiny and fancy with a big burly motor-quite the show piece-so this bike was designed to be the anti-Road King." Well, based on the pictures, Joe and Chucky achieved their goal.
But before we get into the nitty-gritty of the bike itself, a little background on the perpetrators of this story is most certainly in order. Chucky and Joe pride themselves on building stylish, reliable bikes that not only physically fit their customers, but also match the vision of both their clients and themselves. Many of the shop's customers are professional people who trust that they will get a well-designed and great-looking bike from the duo with no drama. Most of the shop's customers leave the cooking to the chefs. With good results, we might add.
Basically, HBMC works with its customers; the crew there doesn't dictate or demand. Joe Curtes, a long-time snowboard professional, was a friend of Laurent, an avid rider. It was only a matter of time before the Frenchman asked his talented friend to create a bike for him. Laurent, being a very particular man, had some strong ideas about what he was looking for, and knowing how HBMC operates, knew he'd get what he wanted or would get the straight poop if what he wanted didn't work or wasn't feasible.
So began the build of the Dept. 85 bobber you see here. The reference to Dept. 85 is Laurent's way of giving props to his hometown in France. You see, in France, rather than states they have "departments," and Laurent was raised in Department 85. Some might say that's not as sexy as Los Angeles or New York City, but to Laurent that mattered not one bit-home is home, no matter what its moniker.